New internet TV rules approved

CABINET DECIDES

The government today cleared the policy framework for the commercial rollout of Internet Protocol TV, or IPTV, and also announced necessary changes to the current downlinking guidelines for television channels.

Current downlinking norms only allow broadcasters to share their channels for the cable and direct-to-home platforms. Now, these will be amended to include sharing of channels with the IPTV platforms too, Minister of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said today after the Cabinet meeting.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had submitted its recommendations for IPTV to the I&B ministry some months back and it was pending the approval from the government.

State-owned BSNL and MTNL are already providing IPTV services across several cities, while private players like Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications are waiting to launch their IPTV services.

IPTV uses high-speed internet to deliver not only the television channels but also other value-added services including time-shift TV, interactive advertising, movies without any advertisements and games.

Under this facility, consumers will be able to access all the past and present television shows at the touch of a button. In IPTV, consumers can also pause live channels and play it back several times.

This means, consumers will now to make a choice between IPTV, DTH and cable television services.

Trai has recommended a higher foreign direct investment (FDI) cap of 74 per cent for the IPTV sector, compared with the FDI cap of 49 per cent in the cable sector. This move will open the doors for foreign investment in the sector, experts say.

“IPTV policy framework will open doors for huge investments in this sector. For consumers, it will mean more quality content and other value-added services at the lowest possible monthly subscriptions,” said Kailash Chaudhari, managing director of Aksh Optifibre, which provides back-end support for IPTV services of MTNL and BSNL.